19K One Station Unit Training: The First Step in Forging the Thunderbolt

19K One Station Unit Training: The First Step in Forging the Thunderbolt by Captain Michael A. Porcelli and Lieutenant Andrew Van Den Hoek The foundation for every enlisted tank crewman is 19K one station unit training (OSUT). This 15-week course is taught by 2d Battalion, 8lst Armor Regiment, 1st Armor Training Brigade, Fort Knox, Kentucky. This is the only battalion in the U.S. Army that trains tankers and it is the one unit that all 19K enlisted tankers must pass through as they start their careers on the finest tank in the world. 19K OSUT combines 9 weeks of basic combat training (BCT) and 6 weeks of advanced individual training (AIT). A typical class is 165 students; most are active duty with a smaller percentage from the Army National Guard and the military occupational specialty transfer (MOS-T) program. With current assignment procedures, there exists a 100-percent chance of Active Duty and MOS-T graduates being assigned to deploying units. It is not uncommon for drill sergeants to receive letters from recent graduates who are in combat zones less than 3 months after departure. The seriousness and importance of this is not lost on the drill sergeants and tank commanders who train these new tankers. Although the focus of this article is not on the BCT portion of training, it is important to note the continuity between the two phases. The tasks trained and tested in BCT are not left behind in lieu of learning the tank crewman tasks in AIT. On the contrary, many tasks from the BCT phase are reinforced throughout the “gold phase,” as the AIT portion is called. Discipline, phys ical conditioning, first aid skills, weapons skills, and loader and driver skills are trained and reinforced continually throughout the 15 weeks. Additionally, every drill sergeant and tank instructor is a 19K and remains with new tankers from the first training day until graduation. The majority of drill sergeants and tank instructors have Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom experience, which ensures tankers not only receive technical training, but also current tactics, techniques, procedures, and the realities of battle. The main focus of the 6-week gold phase is proficiency in those skills associated with loaders and drivers of the M1-series tank. Tankers become familiar with gunner and tank commander duties; and excellence in armor (EIA) candidates and MOS-T tankers receive additional training. All technical training is taken directly from the M1-series technical manuals with the majority of training conducted onboard M1A1 or M1A2SEP tanks in the motor pool or in a field environment, as well as a small amount of time in simulators. Tankers must pass three gate tests during the gold phase: the armor crewman test (ACT), which tests individual tank technical skills to tank crew gunnery skills test (TCGST) standards; the armor stakes, which tests additional TCGST skills and reinforces individual BCT skills in a collective environment; and finally, the gold field training exercise (FTX), which tests skills from throughout the 15 weeks in a collective environment. EIA candidates and MOS- T tankers must also complete unit conduct of fire training, tank boresighting, en gage ment procedures, and gunnery training. The gold phase FTX is an 8-day capstone field exercise that challenges 19Ks to demonstrate proficiency of individual skills with hands-on application. Tankers will per form proficiency tests under a variety of day and night conditions, which include a modified gunnery table, dismounted patrols in an urban environment, occupying a forward operating base (FOB), tank section movement, a 15-kilometer combat foot patrol, and tank recovery. Tankers begin their final exercise rotating between a modified gun nery table and the basic driving course/advanced driving course (BDC/ ADC). BDC/ADC train ing builds on motor pool and tank driver simulator (TDS) training. The ADC has 90 connexes lining the course to replicate close urban terrain. Every tanker receives 21 miles of actual driving during the gold FTX. During conduct of the modified gunnery table, each tanker trains on individual loading and driving skills while becoming familiar with live-fire crew duties. Each will experience as many as 18 main gun firing events while rotating between loader, driver, and gunner positions. They will also engage targets with the loader’s M240 machine gun, M9 pistol, and M4 carbine. The loader’s M240 is fired day and night. Again, EIA candidates and MOS-T tankers will spend more time in the gunner’s seat and may fire as many as 30 main gun rounds. Once the 3 days of BDC/ADC and gunnery are completed, tankers then transition into 4 days of lane training, which includes field driving, field maintenance, FOB, and urban training. The field driving lane tests individual loading and driving skills while a tank section moves cross country and reacts to opposing force (OPFOR)-induced scenarios, such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and small arms fire. The maintenance lane provides instruction to the tankers on typical field maintenance. Tankers will break both tracks and walk them completely off a tank, then reattach them after training on short tracking. They will also prepare a tank for towing and inspect V packs. Additionally, if a tank breaks down, the tankers participate in the repairs. There is no better training than replacing a torsion bar or fixing an inside thrown track in cold mud to gain an appreciation for doing things right. Tankers will conduct a FOB lane where they exercise individual skills while conducting entrance control points (ECPs), performing as a quick-reaction force, and conducting patrols while reacting to contact such as IEDs, indirect fire attacks, snipers, and the local population. The urban lane enables tankers to exercise individual skills by clearing rooms, performing dismounted patrols, administering first aid, and reporting, among other tasks. Focus is not only provided on proficiency of individual skills, but also on making sound judgments and decisions based on the rules of engagement and the Army values. On completion of lane training, tankers conduct a nighttime 15-kilometer combat patrol where they demonstrate their ability to react to five situational-based scenarios, including an IED attack, a near ambush, the media, and an angry populace. All tankers wear full body armor with small-arms protective insert (SAPI) plates, as they do during the entire FTX, along with radios, weapons, and the typical gear they will see in combat. The field portion ends with a 15-kilometer patrol, but the testing and training does not. Tankers are given 5 days to recover their tanks and all equipment used in the FTX, which culminates with the battalion commander and command sergeant major’s inspection of all tanks, weapons, and TA-50. Tankers learn about wash rack operations and are trained by tank instructors and drill sergeants in after-operations maintenance. 19K OSUT also awards the K4 and R4 additional skill identifiers. During week 7, tankers destined for M1A2 SEP units will be separated for assignment-oriented training to allow focus on SEP-specific tasks. Following graduation, tankers destined for Stryker-equipped units conduct 14 additional days of training, which is focused on maintenance, driving, and basic Force XXI battle command brigade and below (FBCB2) operation. Similar training will begin within the next year for the Stryker mobile gun system. Every month surveys are reviewed from recent graduates, first-line supervisors, and the installation’s combat leaders. Based on the feedback from these surveys, training is continuously altered to support the force’s needs. Through Mount-edManeuverNet, feedback and comments regarding training can be directly sent to 2d Battalion, 81st Armor Regiment. As the modern battlefield evolves so will 19K OSUT, but one thing will not change — we will continue to produce well-trained, innovative tankers who will crew the world’s most lethal tank across a full-spectrum of operations. Captain Michael A. Porcelli is the company commander, A Company, 2d Battalion, 81st Armor Regiment, Fort Knox, KY. He received a B.A. from the University of Mississippi. His military education includes Armor Officer Basic Course, Armor Captains Career Course, and Combined Arms and Services Staff School. He has served in various command and staff position, to include S3 (Plans), 3d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Riley, KS; J3 (Operations), Joint Task Force Bravo, Honduras; mortar platoon leader, 1st Squadron, 12th (1-12) Cavalry, Fort Hood, TX; and tank platoon leader, 1-12 Cavalry, Fort Hood. Lieutenant Andrew Van Den Hoek is the XO, A Company, 2d Battalion, 81st Armor Regiment, Fort Knox, KY. He received a B.A. from Central Washington University. His military education includes Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC) II; BOLC III, and Scout Leaders Course. “Tankers will conduct a FOB lane where they exercise individual skills while conducting entrance control points (ECPs), performing as a quick-reaction force, and conducting patrols while reacting to contact such as IEDs, indirect fire attacks, snipers, and local population. The urban lane enables tankers to exercise individual skills by clearing rooms, performing dismounted patrols, administering first aid, and reporting, among other tasks.” 18 — May-June 2007